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Monday, November 10, 2014

The Joy of Missionary Work

This week I ate a looooot of
new things..... and not all of them were very good at all, but just to list it
off

-Figado is liver and it’s
nasty.Figado of cow is tolerable, but of
figado of chicken is the worst thing I’ve had in my mouth. and I was tricked
into it.I was justtalking and stuff and Sister Herculano just
popped it in my mouth and I was like “Oh!Food! thanks!And then I almost
died. Hahahaha.Man, gross.

-Heart!I ate heart of cow and of chicken! I was like this meat is weird.It’s not figado but it’s not normal meat. and
they were like its coração!And I was
like what..? curacao?For like 2 seconds
I was like that means heart, but that’s weird. Why would they..... OMG I’M
EATING HEART!I didn’t even think that
happens in the world …except in Snow White,
but dang. It’s pretty good. hahahaha

- Alligator. Man, its super good!I’d eat that every day!

-Pumba.From the lion king.Warthog?It’s alright.... not my favorite. but cool to add to the list of Brasilian
experiences! :)

But now that that’s out of
the way, I will write about the real highlight of the week:

The baptism of LEANDROOOO!!!
Oh mannnn it was amazing and suuuuch a test of faith and miracles!!So basically we spent the day preparing,
cleaning and organizing for the baptism Saturday.Finally the time came and everyone was there
and ready and excited … but no Leandro or Glayson!We called, but no one answered.We called the other phones, desligados. [no
answer]We were kinda freaking out and
ready to just run to their house (about 20 minutes walking so not too far) but
then Glayson answered and said that something happened the night before and Leandro
didn’t want to do it, anymore, but he wanted to talk first,My heart dropped. Because of some bad
planning on our part, we didnt have a chance to see him the night before.The only night we didn’t see them.I knew we had messed up. real bad.I just prayed and prayed that whatever
happened, it would be the Lord’s will, but that our screw up wouldn’t impede
the saving decision of Leandro to make this promise with God.

So we went to their house and
took them to the chapel and just sat there. We prayed, felt the spirit and they
talked.

This was when I truly truly
prayed for the will of God, whatever it was. to not discourage them from
keeping going and doing the right thing. I know God knows and understands what is best for each of us individually. It is not "one size fits all."

But miracles!The zone leader talked with them and said
that they truly were repentant and Leandro could be baptized!!! The Spirit spoke to the zone leaders. I am grateful for priesthood keys.

So Leandro was baptized 1.5 hours
late. It was the best baptism meeting
ever. Seeing him walk in and knowing with a certainty that when he came out of
that water, he was clean.All the sins were washed away and Leandro understood the mercy of God.The
best part was seeing the face of Glayson as he too realized the significance of
this moment for Leandro, and the excitement for his own baptism in Janeiro.
[January]

Also, it was a battle to go to
church the next day because Leandro worked.Long story short, we testified of the promises of God and Leandro came
the next day. on the hour! and received the gift of the Holy Ghost who will
help not only him but Glayson, as well, until Glayson, too, receives the gift of the Holy
Ghost in Janeiro [January].What
a blessing!This weekend was full of miracles
and trials of our faith.I feel so soooo
blessed knowing that repentance is real.
that it is sooo real and that these kids will be the instruments in the Lords
hand soon to bring this gospel to their families and to hundreds more in the
field.

I wrote down the blessing
Leandro received, as well.I’ll tell you
later, but it was the best blessing of confirmation ever!

I am out of time, but I love
you all and you are reallly in my prayers always.I am so grateful for this opportunity to be
on a mission.It’s incredible and I
never want it to end.It still hasn’t
hit me because I feel like I have years here still.So I’ll keep believing that. :)

Keep strong and share the
gospel!Love you all!

-Sister Yoshimoto

p.s.I included pics of Ravy and his daughter I
helped teach who got baptized!!

I also included a picture of the dress up for halloween/activity at the church :)

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Sister Lauren Yoshimoto's Contact Info

Sister Lauren Yoshimoto departed from San Jose early in the morning of June 12, 2013 and entered the Missionary Training Center at 11 am that same day. Final destination: Brazil Teresina Mission.

While waiting for her visa to be processed, Sister Yoshimoto was temporarily called to serve in the Nevada Las Vegas Mission and left the Missionary Training Center on July 24, 2013. She arrived that same morning in Las Vegas Nevada. 8 months later she received her visa.

Sister Yoshimoto left Nevada on a journey to Brazil on April 1, 2014. She spent two weeks in the Missionary Training Center in Sao Paolo and then traveled to Teresina, where the mission home is located. She was then dispatched to her first area in Tiangua, in the state of Ceara, in the Northeastern region of Brazil.